eroding

e·rode

 (ĭ-rōd′)

v. e·rod·ed, e·rod·ing, e·rodes

v.tr.

1. To wear (something) away by erosion: Waves eroded the shore.

2. To eat into or eat away the substance of: Acidic water erodes pipes. Arthritis had eroded the cartilage.

3. To make or form by wearing away: The river eroded a deep valley.

4. To cause to diminish or deteriorate: "Long enduring peace often erodes popular resolution" (C.L. Sulzberger).

v.intr.

1. To become worn or eaten away: The cliffs have eroded over the centuries.

2. To diminish or deteriorate: Public confidence in the administration eroded.

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[Latin ērōdere, to gnaw off, eat away : ē-, ex-, ex- + rōdere, to gnaw; see rēd- in Indo-European roots.]

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e·rod′i·bil′i·ty n.

e·rod′i·ble adj.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

eroding - (geology) the mechanical process of wearing or grinding something down (as by particles washing over it) eating away, erosion, wearing, wearing away geology - a science that deals with the history of the earth as recorded in rocks chatter mark - marks on a glaciated rock caused by the movement of a glacier ablation - the erosive process that reduces the size of glaciers attrition, corrasion, detrition - erosion by friction beach erosion - the erosion of beaches geologic process, geological process - (geology) a natural process whereby geological features are modified deflation - (geology) the erosion of soil as a consequence of sand and dust and loose rocks being removed by the wind; "a constant deflation of the desert landscape" planation - the process of erosion whereby a level surface is produced soil erosion - the washing away of soil by the flow of water

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